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SNAP COVID-19 Emergency Allotments Guidance (2020)

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The SNAP COVID-19 Emergency Allotments Guidance was guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) effective March 20, 2020, that aimed to provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to individuals who had been previously deemed ineligible for emergency allotments pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The department issued updated guidance in April 2021 to provide $1 billion per month in additional food assistance to eligible households during the pandemic. The issuance of emergency allotments ended in February 2023 after President Joe Biden (D) signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 into law.[1][2]

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Name: SNAP COVID-19 Emergency Allotments Guidance
  • Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture
  • Action: Guidance

    • Timeline

    The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:

    • January 6, 2023: USDA published a memo announcing that SNAP emergency allotments would be terminated, pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.[3]
    • December 14, 2021: USDA published updated guidance titled "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — Emergency Allotments (EA)."[4]
    • April 1, 2021: USDA published updated guidance titled "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — Emergency Allotments."[5]
    • March 20, 2020: USDA published guidance titled "SNAP COVID-19 Emergency Allotments Guidance"[2]

    Background

    See also: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements

    President Donald Trump (R) signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law on March 18, 2020, which in part authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue guidance "provid[ing] for the issuance of emergency allotments (supplements) based on a public health emergency declaration by the Secretary of Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act related to an outbreak of COVID-19 when a State has also issued an emergency or disaster declaration." The USDA issued the guidance on March 20, 2020, directing states on the process for implementing the provisions of the act.[2][6]

    The USDA issued updated guidance on April 1, 2021, in an effort to "provide benefits to certain eligible households, including those receiving SNAP benefits at the statutory maximum, that were previously deemed ineligible for emergency allotments by USDA." The department argued that, upon reassessment of its authority under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, it had the authority to provide emergency allotments for benefits that would exceed the statutory maximum for the household size. The USDA claimed in the guidance that the change in position would allow the department to provide assistance for families in need during the pandemic. The USDA reported in the guidance that the department would "provide $1 billion per month in additional food assistance to an estimated 25 million people in very low-income households that are participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and struggling to put food on the table due to the pandemic."[5][1]

    The USDA issued another updated guidance on December 14, 2021, directing states on the phase-out requirements for SNAP emergency allotments. The guidance allowed states to provide one month of emergency allotments as a phase-out following an end to a state's emergency declaration.[4]

    President Joe Biden (D) signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 into law on December 29, 2022. Pursuant to the law, the USDA ended the SNAP emergency allotments. States were authorized to offer a one-month phase-out pursuant to the December 2021 guidance, which ended all emergency allotments in February 2023.[3]

    Summary of the rule

    The following is a summary of the guidance from the USDA:[7]

    “

    USDA has granted waivers to the following states, allowing for the issuance of emergency allotments (supplements) based on a public health emergency declaration by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act related to an outbreak of COVID-19 when a state has also issued an emergency or disaster declaration.[8]

    		”

    Summary of provisions

    The following is a summary of the provisions from the guidance:[2]

    “

    The attached is guidance to States in implementing Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, which provides for the issuance of emergency allotments (supplements) based on a public health emergency declaration by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act related to an outbreak of COVID-19 when a State has also issued an emergency or disaster declaration.

    Please be advised that the contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. Any questions should be directed to Andrea Gold, Director, Retail Policy and Management Division. [8]

    		”

    Text of the guidance

    The full text of each USDA guidance related to the SNAP COVID-19 emergency allotments can be found here.

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, "USDA Increases Emergency SNAP Benefits for 25 million Americans; Ensures COVID-19 Relief Reaches Those Struggling the Most," April 1, 2021
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 U.S. Department of Agriculture, "SNAP COVID-19 Emergency Allotments Guidance," March 20, 2020
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, "SNAP Emergency Allotments (EA) Provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023," January 6, 2023
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 United States Department of Agriculture, "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — Emergency Allotments (EA)," December 14, 2021
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 United States Department of Agriculture, "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — Emergency Allotments," April 1, 2021
    6. ↑ H.R.6201 - Families First Coronavirus Response Act," accessed April 4, 2024
    7. ↑ U.S. Department of Agriculture, "SNAP COVID-19 Emergency Allotments Guidance," November 22, 2023
    8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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